A highlight of our time in Adelaide was a tour of the oval, including its historic scoreboard which is still operated manually by between seven and ten men (no women as the toilets are too far away !). Although some time had passed, the scoreboard was still showing Australia’s ODI defeat of England.

Subsequent to the earlier post from Tasmania this photo of Daphne at Cataract Gorge in 1975 has been spotted.

To finish the Tasmanian blogs, a few observations on being on the road there – stops for food, fuel and road obstructions are different to what we are used to in the UK. That said, a lot of the place names are the same, such as Sheffield, Perth, Pontypool and Exeter; all in the wrong order (a bit like in Connecticut). Whilst there the temperature ranged from 25 to 35 degrees C; the day after we left it snowed !

A stop on the route from Launceston to Swansea at Bicheno for fish and chips, a look at the penguins and a walk on the beach; previously visited by the Shillingford family in the 70s.

Cataract Gorge in Launceston (pronounced Lon-cess-ton) and Wineglass Bay.

Two nights in a cabin at the Cradle Mountain National Park, arriving on Sarah’s birthday and leaving on Australia Day. Two big walks (yes, Tim included). Stunning scenery. Lots of wildlife, although sadly we saw more road-kill wombats on the route out of the park than we’d seen alive in the park.

Note to David (and Orla) – no rocks or cuddly toys in the rucksack…

Everything about the MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) is a surprise. A quirky museum 12km from Hobart established by local (mathematician gambler) millionaire David Walsh. From the ferry ride up the Derwent, by “camouflage” boat on which your seat is a sheep and a cow accompanies you, to the ticket for Food and Art, known as a “FART” ticket, you are left wondering what is next. The location is stunning, with the restaurant jutting out over the water, and the food delicious. As an unexpected mid-course experience you are taken into two rooms for 15 minutes each – the first being a show of bright lights (in the large white sphere below) and the second being a totally dark room (in which we could not even find the second chair we were told to expect).

Hobart is the second least populated state capital in Australia – small but pretty and feels like it has not changed since the 70s (or before), although a Deloitte office was spotted en route from post office to chemist.

Out last couple of days in Sydney included catching up with Jo for supper in Bondi and delicious seafood overlooking Double Bay with Catherine and Mal. It wasn’t the first time that Catherine and Sarah had met in Double Bay !

Taking a break and sharing the beetroot tree with the kookaburras.